Felt-Tipped
"Sometimes you have to go above the law"
Fawn Hall, former National Security Council staff secretary
W. Mark Felt, former Assistant Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), revealed last week that he was the government employee known as "Deep Throat" who leaked crucial information to Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward during the Watergate investigation. To Woodward, Felt was a hero; to former White House speech writer Patrick Buchanan, he betrayed his President. Who is right? How did an FBI official come to help the liberal Post bring down a Republican President?
The story begins with the intricate relationship between the FBI and White House.
Hoover builds the FBI
John Edgar Hoover (1895-1972) was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation of the US Department of Justice in 1924. Hoover built the Bureau, renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation, into a modern crime-fighting organization, known for honesty and efficiency. He established the Crime Laboratory, the fingerprint department, and the training academy, all of which were available to help state and local police. During the 1930's, a number of highly-publicized battles with notorious bank-robbers (such as John Dillinger) brought glory to the FBI and Hoover. The exploits of his "G-Men" (G for government) were celebrated in newspapers, radio and many films.
Although Hoover was under the jurisdiction of the Attorney General, he quickly established a tradition of dealing directly with the President.(1) Hoover kept himself and the Bureau out of partisan politics, and was re-appointed Director by every President from Coolidge to Nixon, serving under numerous Attorneys General of both major parties. Under his direction, the FBI made impressive moves against both Nazi and Communist spy-rings.
Beneath this glorious image, however, lay serious flaws. Although effective against bandits like Dillinger and "Pretty Boy" Floyd, the FBI stood by as major organized crime cartels flourished.(2) Hoover, who denied that the Mafia exitsted, openly associated with known gangsters such as Frank Costello. He also passed on information about alleged Communists in the executive branch to Senator Joseph McCarthy (R, WI).
Hoover was hostile to the civil rights movement, which he believed was Communist-inspired. Blacks could not become FBI agents until about 1970, and the Bureau ignored crimes against civil rights workers until prodded into action by Attorney General Robert Kennedy. ( Hoover must have been chagrined to learn that southern racists referred to the FBI as the Federal Bureau of Integration.) The FBI leaked embarrassing information about Martin Luther King to his wife and selected reporters.
Under Hoover's leadership, the FBI used illegal methods such as burglary and unauthorized wire-taps against the anti-Vietnam War movement and others he thought up to no good. Investigative files were kept on entertainers, politicians, and others not suspected of any criminal activity. On the other hand, Hoover also "put the kibosh" on a package of illegal surveillance plans proposed by Tom Huston, a member of President Nixon's staff.
Succession
J Edgar Hoover did not groom a successor; his deputy Clyde Tolson was about his age.
In 1971 Hoover promoted W Mark Felt, a 30-year plus veteran of the agency, to be the No. 3 man in the FBI. When Hoover died on May 2, 1972, Tolson was too sick to succeed him. Felt expected to be named Director, but instead President Richard Nixon chose a former naval officer, Asst. Attorney General L Patrick Gray. (3) While Gray spent most of his time on public relations activity, he delegated the day-to-day work of running the FBI to Deputy Director Felt.
Watergate
In the early morning of June 17, 1972, five men with phone-tapping equipment were arrested in the office of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate complex in Washington. The FBI began an investigation to determine who had instigated the intrusion. Reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were assigned to cover the story for the Washington Post.
H R (B0b) Haldeman, chief of the White House staff, alerted President Nixon to the danger that the FBI might uncover a money-chain that linked the burglars to important people at the White House and the Committee to Re-Elect the President. Haldeman knew that several of the men involved in the Watergate case had also performed a number of illegal activities for the White House that would be politically embarrassing if made public. (4)
Nixon ordered Haldeman to get the CIA to inform the FBI that Watergate was a CIA operation, and that pursuing the money-chain would " open up the Bay of Pigs" operation (5). Upon Haldeman's urging, Deputy Director of Central Intelligence Vernon Walters told Director Gray of the FBI exactly that.
Soon thereafter Mark Felt began secretly feeding investigative leads to Bob Woodward, who used this exclusive information to co-author (with Bernstein) a series of Washington Post articles that ultimately exposed the entire Watergate scandal. Senate and House hearings followed, and President Nixon was forced to resign on August 9, 1974.
Traitor or Hero?
J Edgar Hoover took orders from no one but the President; Patrick Gray obeyed the White House staff. He allowed Nixon's Counsel John Dean to be present at all interviews at the White House and kept him informed of developments.
Dean and White House aide John Ehrlichman gave Gray two envelopes from the safe of Watergate conspirator Howard Hunt, suggesting that the contents were "political dynamite" that " should not see the light of day." Gray burned the documents, even though they might have been useful as evidence.
Unlike Felt, Gray owed his position to Richard Nixon. Mark Felt correctly perceived that the FBI was being used by White House to cover-up the Watergate scandal, and that he was in a unique position to do something about it. Even if some of his tips to Woodward were illegal, they served the higher public interest of removing men who violated the public trust from power. If we are glad that the truth came out, we must also be appreciative of Mark Felt's role in bringing it out.
Had Mark Felt's role become known to President Nixon, he would have been fired, and his effectiveness in exposing the truth ended. But Felt concealed his identity as the "Deep Throat" informer for over thirty years after Nixon resigned. He repeatedly denied this identity, even long after he left the FBI. As a result, other men were wrongly accused of being "Deep Throat."
A true hero takes responsibility for his actions, so Mark Felt's subsequent years of lies undermines the view that he was a hero.
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(1) Robert F Kennedy, perhaps the only Attorney General as famous as Hoover, insisted that the Director report to him. Hoover complied just enough to keep his job. After President Kennedy was assassinated, he quickly established a relationship with Lyndon Johnson.
(2) Hoover personally arrested wanted murder-suspect "Lepke" Buchalter, after the suspect surrendered to columnist Walter Winchell, a friend and supporter of the Director.
(3) "A Friendship That Toppled a President" by Bob Woodward in the Washington Post, June 2, 2005.
(4) "Silent Coup" by Len Colodny.
(5) Cuban exiles invaded the Bay of Pigs, Cuba, in April, 1961, with CIA support. Apparently Walters believed that President Nixon was continuing some sort of anti-Castro operation; significantly, the Watergate burglars were Cuban exiles.
Fawn Hall, former National Security Council staff secretary
W. Mark Felt, former Assistant Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), revealed last week that he was the government employee known as "Deep Throat" who leaked crucial information to Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward during the Watergate investigation. To Woodward, Felt was a hero; to former White House speech writer Patrick Buchanan, he betrayed his President. Who is right? How did an FBI official come to help the liberal Post bring down a Republican President?
The story begins with the intricate relationship between the FBI and White House.
Hoover builds the FBI
John Edgar Hoover (1895-1972) was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation of the US Department of Justice in 1924. Hoover built the Bureau, renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation, into a modern crime-fighting organization, known for honesty and efficiency. He established the Crime Laboratory, the fingerprint department, and the training academy, all of which were available to help state and local police. During the 1930's, a number of highly-publicized battles with notorious bank-robbers (such as John Dillinger) brought glory to the FBI and Hoover. The exploits of his "G-Men" (G for government) were celebrated in newspapers, radio and many films.
Although Hoover was under the jurisdiction of the Attorney General, he quickly established a tradition of dealing directly with the President.(1) Hoover kept himself and the Bureau out of partisan politics, and was re-appointed Director by every President from Coolidge to Nixon, serving under numerous Attorneys General of both major parties. Under his direction, the FBI made impressive moves against both Nazi and Communist spy-rings.
Beneath this glorious image, however, lay serious flaws. Although effective against bandits like Dillinger and "Pretty Boy" Floyd, the FBI stood by as major organized crime cartels flourished.(2) Hoover, who denied that the Mafia exitsted, openly associated with known gangsters such as Frank Costello. He also passed on information about alleged Communists in the executive branch to Senator Joseph McCarthy (R, WI).
Hoover was hostile to the civil rights movement, which he believed was Communist-inspired. Blacks could not become FBI agents until about 1970, and the Bureau ignored crimes against civil rights workers until prodded into action by Attorney General Robert Kennedy. ( Hoover must have been chagrined to learn that southern racists referred to the FBI as the Federal Bureau of Integration.) The FBI leaked embarrassing information about Martin Luther King to his wife and selected reporters.
Under Hoover's leadership, the FBI used illegal methods such as burglary and unauthorized wire-taps against the anti-Vietnam War movement and others he thought up to no good. Investigative files were kept on entertainers, politicians, and others not suspected of any criminal activity. On the other hand, Hoover also "put the kibosh" on a package of illegal surveillance plans proposed by Tom Huston, a member of President Nixon's staff.
Succession
J Edgar Hoover did not groom a successor; his deputy Clyde Tolson was about his age.
In 1971 Hoover promoted W Mark Felt, a 30-year plus veteran of the agency, to be the No. 3 man in the FBI. When Hoover died on May 2, 1972, Tolson was too sick to succeed him. Felt expected to be named Director, but instead President Richard Nixon chose a former naval officer, Asst. Attorney General L Patrick Gray. (3) While Gray spent most of his time on public relations activity, he delegated the day-to-day work of running the FBI to Deputy Director Felt.
Watergate
In the early morning of June 17, 1972, five men with phone-tapping equipment were arrested in the office of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate complex in Washington. The FBI began an investigation to determine who had instigated the intrusion. Reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were assigned to cover the story for the Washington Post.
H R (B0b) Haldeman, chief of the White House staff, alerted President Nixon to the danger that the FBI might uncover a money-chain that linked the burglars to important people at the White House and the Committee to Re-Elect the President. Haldeman knew that several of the men involved in the Watergate case had also performed a number of illegal activities for the White House that would be politically embarrassing if made public. (4)
Nixon ordered Haldeman to get the CIA to inform the FBI that Watergate was a CIA operation, and that pursuing the money-chain would " open up the Bay of Pigs" operation (5). Upon Haldeman's urging, Deputy Director of Central Intelligence Vernon Walters told Director Gray of the FBI exactly that.
Soon thereafter Mark Felt began secretly feeding investigative leads to Bob Woodward, who used this exclusive information to co-author (with Bernstein) a series of Washington Post articles that ultimately exposed the entire Watergate scandal. Senate and House hearings followed, and President Nixon was forced to resign on August 9, 1974.
Traitor or Hero?
J Edgar Hoover took orders from no one but the President; Patrick Gray obeyed the White House staff. He allowed Nixon's Counsel John Dean to be present at all interviews at the White House and kept him informed of developments.
Dean and White House aide John Ehrlichman gave Gray two envelopes from the safe of Watergate conspirator Howard Hunt, suggesting that the contents were "political dynamite" that " should not see the light of day." Gray burned the documents, even though they might have been useful as evidence.
Unlike Felt, Gray owed his position to Richard Nixon. Mark Felt correctly perceived that the FBI was being used by White House to cover-up the Watergate scandal, and that he was in a unique position to do something about it. Even if some of his tips to Woodward were illegal, they served the higher public interest of removing men who violated the public trust from power. If we are glad that the truth came out, we must also be appreciative of Mark Felt's role in bringing it out.
Had Mark Felt's role become known to President Nixon, he would have been fired, and his effectiveness in exposing the truth ended. But Felt concealed his identity as the "Deep Throat" informer for over thirty years after Nixon resigned. He repeatedly denied this identity, even long after he left the FBI. As a result, other men were wrongly accused of being "Deep Throat."
A true hero takes responsibility for his actions, so Mark Felt's subsequent years of lies undermines the view that he was a hero.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Robert F Kennedy, perhaps the only Attorney General as famous as Hoover, insisted that the Director report to him. Hoover complied just enough to keep his job. After President Kennedy was assassinated, he quickly established a relationship with Lyndon Johnson.
(2) Hoover personally arrested wanted murder-suspect "Lepke" Buchalter, after the suspect surrendered to columnist Walter Winchell, a friend and supporter of the Director.
(3) "A Friendship That Toppled a President" by Bob Woodward in the Washington Post, June 2, 2005.
(4) "Silent Coup" by Len Colodny.
(5) Cuban exiles invaded the Bay of Pigs, Cuba, in April, 1961, with CIA support. Apparently Walters believed that President Nixon was continuing some sort of anti-Castro operation; significantly, the Watergate burglars were Cuban exiles.
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 10:25 AM
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